New Batavia city logo advances

BATAVIA – The proposal for a new city of Batavia logo has narrowly avoided being bogged down in a design-by-committee – literally.

Meeting as a committee of the whole on Aug. 20, some members of the Batavia City Council were having second thoughts about the new logo design to which they had reacted favorably only a week previously.

The new logo features a modern rendering of windmill blades inside a circle and the wording “City of Batavia” using two typefaces, but no accompanying motto or tagline.

Several aldermen suggested that the design, while serviceable, does not elicit enough passion.

In the end, the committee decided, with the help of Mayor Jeff Schielke, to move the basic design forward, with the caveat that the typeface and blue color may yet be altered at the full council level.

First, aldermen engaged in a lengthy debate, with some arguing that the proposal needs further exploration, while others said the simple design is adaptable and sought a decision.

“We can apply this to anything and build around it,” 6th Ward Alderman Nick Cerone said. “I’m against 14 people talking about this forever,” he added, arguing that the group would never reach unanimous agreement on a matter which is inherently subjective.

“We’re our own worst enemy,” 4th Ward Alderman Tony Malay said in agreement. “I thought we had a consensus. This is a logo everyone liked and doesn’t tie us down. I’m ready to move forward,” Malay said.

Second Ward Alderman Marty Callahan said the logo is a visual representation of the city, asserted that Batavians like to be passionate about things and concluded that the design is not bold enough.

City Communications Coordinator Griffin Price told aldermen that the design is flexible and can be used in a wide range of applications.

Careful to defer to aldermen as the policy-makers, Price nevertheless pressed for a decision.

“I don’t think there is one design you all will like,” Price said. “The only reason I’m pushing it is because that’s a good representation of the city.”

Unconvinced, some aldermen went so far as to suggest inviting the public to make submissions in a citywide logo contest.

City Administrator Laura Newman has been encouraging the council to adapt a new logo for a couple of years and is eager to get a design approved so it can be used on the new city entryway signs, two of which she hopes to install yet this year.

“You’re leaving a lot to chance,” Newman said when confronted with the contest idea.

While clearly exasperated, Newman kept her cool and instead methodically outlined a lengthy process for aldermen to whittle down contest submissions and concluded that the entryway sign installation would have to wait until next year.

Cerone, with a second from Malay, made a motion to approve the design as presented, although leaving the color and typeface optional.

Voting in favor were Cerone and Malay along with 1st Ward Alderman Michael O’Brien, 2nd Ward Alderman Alan Wolff, 6th Ward Alderman Michael Russotto and 7th Ward Alderman Keenan Miller.

Voting against were Callahan, 1st Ward Alderman Scott Salvati, 3rd Ward Alderman Elliot Meitzler, 4th Ward Alderman Joe Knopp and 5th Ward aldermen Mark Uher and Abby Beck. Two aldermen were absent.

Laughter erupted when recording secretary Jennifer Austin-Smith announced the 6-6 tie, and all eyes turned to Schielke, who immediately rose and began walking toward the door as if leaving the meeting.

The mayor quickly doubled back and peered over Cerone’s shoulder to look at the logo design in a print-out atop the alderman’s desk, before casting the tie-breaker to move the design to the full council for approval.

In a memo, Price outlined the rationale for the logo’s design.

“This logo is a clean and modern representation of the city of Batavia that honors 30 years of progress and stands as a community wide symbol for the future.

“As a stand-alone image, the windmill icon is sleek, scalable, and easily recognizable as a tie to the city. It can also be animated to rotate forward in digital applications.

“Blue is used as an allusion to the prior city logo and provides context as a sky in the background of the windmill. Blue is also the most e­effective color for instilling government trust.

“The font displays a traditional style with smooth readability and flows seamlessly with current applications.”